By Corina Pons and Matteo Allievi
MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish airlines expect a record summer season and are adding 13% more seats from a year ago, confident that consumers will continue to travel despite inflation pressuring their spending, the head of Spain's airlines industry group said on Tuesday.
From the beginning of April to the end of October, the group has scheduled up to 758,000 flights, 9% more than in the same period in 2023 with a total capacity of up to 240 million seats.
"Everything seems to indicate that we will have record numbers again this summer in terms of demand. People are travelling more than before despite inflationary tensions," Javier Gandara, head of the Spanish Airlines Association, told a news conference.
Leisure travel demand, which has boomed since the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ended, remains strong despite a squeeze on household incomes.
Separately, tourism industry group Exceltur estimated on Tuesday that sales in the sector, including hotels and transport companies, will rise 6% in the second quarter from record levels a year ago after a strong start to 2024.
"We are concerned about how to manage this growing flow of tourists," said Exceltur Vice-president Jose Luis Zoreda, who supported more regulations to curb the proliferation of holiday homes, as proposed by the Canary Islands, to avoid a negative impact on the local community.
Gandara said airline services to the Canary Islands and the southern region of Andalusia, among the top Spanish destinations for summer tourism, will have 14% more seats, above the Spanish average, while the cities of Madrid and Barcelona will see 15% added compared to a year ago.
Airlines are increasing the number of seats available between Spain and markets such as Germany and Britain.
Gandara pointed out that the impact of the Middle East conflict on Spain's airline industry is limited as only 0.2% of flights departing from Spain have Israel as a destination.
Regarding possible increases in the oil price due to geopolitical tensions, he said that most airlines ensure a minimum fuel consumption at a given price so that any crude price fluctuations will likely have a limited impact.